Study Month & $$$

So, for those of you reading this, you should know July is my study month, so i won't be updating til Cardiology starts in August.

So, I thought i'd give a little tiny glimpse into the more complicated life of a med student.  And what better way to understand than to talk $$, especially when applying for residency. Because so many people out there don't understand exactly how much it costs to become a doctor. So here are a few fun $$ amounts that I have to deal with:

So Licensing exams. There are 3 of them that every doctor takes.  Step 1 is written and after second year. Step 2 is both written and oral after third year.  And Step 3 is written, only pass or fail and is taken your first year of residency (also known as intern year).  This year these are how much it cost me.

• Licensing exam - Step 2.   Written:  $500   (i'm taking 2 the MD & the DO)
• Licensing exam - Step 2.  Oral:   $1,500 + plane ticket + hotel + rental car (this is a 2 day event)

Total cost here: $2,500 to simply take my exams + plane ticket + hotel + rental car

Actual Application process:

• Applying to programs costs money.  So the first 10 programs in 1 specialty cost $92.00 flat fee   for 11-20 programs add on extra $9/program   21-30 programs add on $15/program   and 21-30 programs  add $15/program   31+ programs add $25/program    (i plan on a minimum of 50). Some people apply to more than one specialty. I don't know if i can afford it.
• release for my licensing exam scores costs $70 each (so x2)
• transcripts from the school cost $5 1 time fee
• registration for the MD match costs $50
• registration for the DO match costs $60

So generally to only apply the first go round I'm looking at $1,237 plus the cost of my exams, plus any extra fees.  Don't forget that if the residency program likes you they will offer you an interview.  This will cost plane ticket + rental car + hotel and 3 days of your time for every interview.  Most interview seasons last about 3 months and almost everyone's rule of thumb is that you need 10 interviews to have a good chance at matching into a residency program. By this time next year it will probably be 15.   So that's a lot of money and plane rides in a 3 month period.  Lots of suits and questions and travel and being tired. So yay.  That's my future if i pass step 2.  Yay.

Plus it doesn't help that I am officially going to be close to a million dollars in debt when I'm out. This means my minimum monthly payment is going to be over $3,000/mo for the next 10 years or more of my life.   Is there any wonder why so many people aren't a fan of capping doctor's salaries? Or so many don't go to medical school anymore?

Also, Is there any wonder why I have no motivation to study for this exam?  It is never-ending. Now I have to go force myself to study.